Right By Your Side
by 1970heaven
Summary: An Inch High Private Eye story. After Lori gets kidnapped, she and Gator both realize how important it is to tell someone you live them while you still can.


They had never expected this to happen. They had always thought they were invincible, but of course they were wrong.

Gator had been the one who had heard her cry out for help as the bad guys carried her away. Even when they tried to stop them, all they had managed to do was run into Mr. Finkerton, who threatened to fire Inch if he didn't find the crooks soon. (There was nothing new about that).

But all they cared about at this point was finding Lori, whom they tracked down using the flower communication device on her blouse.

As they followed the beeps to wherever the thieves had taken her, Inch was saying something about how he knew all along who the criminals were and what their plans were. Braveheart was pretending to listen at the very least but Gator couldn't focus on anything but the beeping, and praying that it would lead them to her and that when they found her she would still be alive.

...

"Let me go!" Lori cried again as the men who had grabbed her took her down a hallway to a dark room.

They threw her in and she tried to run, only to be shoved back in. One of the men laughed, "You'll never get out!"

"You won't get away with this!" Lori shouted defiantly.

The other man chuckled, "On the contrary my dear, we already have!"

The door was slammed shut and locked. Lori tried to shove the door down but all that happened was that her arm and shoulder got sore. She looked around, it was pitch black, and cold. The room was about as big as a closet, and it felt like the walls and door were made of metal.

Lori sighed in defeat, leaning against the wall and sitting down, hugging her knees to her chest. She shivered, and began to cry.

"Uncle Inch," she whispered through her tears, "where are you?"

...

Inch tried again to get in touch with his niece, but it was no use.

Inch sighed, "At this point, I don't care if I lose my job or not, all I want to do is find Lori before it's too late! I could get a new job but she's family and she can't be replaced!"

Braveheart whimpered in agreement.

The thought of Lori being kidnapped and held hostage terrified Gator. Tears came to his eyes as he thought about her.

_Why?_ He thought, _Why'd it have to be her? Why not me instead?_

Lori had always been the one he felt closest to. She clearly was more capable of figuring things out than he was, though she never bragged about it. As a matter of fact she usually went along with Inch saying that he was the "best detective in the world" or something like that. She was kind, she was brave, she was loyal, she was always there when they needed her.

Now she needed their help and he knew it.

_Don't worry Miss Lori, we'll be right by your side very soon._

_..._

All she could hear were her own sobs echoing around her, the cold air numbing her skin and sucking the energy from her.

She knew there was no escape.

All she could think about was her family, what could be happening to them.

She wondered what could be happening to him.

Lori had always felt very close to Gator, but lately her affections for him had begun to grow from friendship to something else.

Sometimes she would forget, other times she would be doing the simplest things, and start thinking. Then she would start feeling it again. What she felt couldn't be described, but she suspected she knew what it was.

Now, she needed him, and she prayed that she would be found soon.

...

They got to the hideout, it seemed like a normal, yet rundown house at first, but they knew the inside would be anything but.

Braveheart jumped out of the Hush Mobile and started sniffing. His nose led to a door leading to a cellar.

"Gator," Inch instructed, "you stay here. Braveheart and I will go down into the cellar and see if we can find the crooks, and hopefully, Lori too."

"Yes sir, Mr. Inch!" Gator replied, saluting his boss and opening the door.

Braveheart carefully snuck down the stairs with Inch riding on top of his head. Once they reached the bottom, they noticed the two goons were sitting in chairs in one corner, snoring loudly. The other corner had a table, with stacks of money on it, as well as what was supposed to be Lori's flower mic and her purse.

_Oh no_, thought Inch, _that can't be good!_

Braveheart began sniffing the air, then paused, pointing his head toward a long corridor.

He sniffed his way down the hallway until he reached a steel door, and then he sneezed. Inch went flying backwards and landed on the ground.

"Gezundheit!" Inch exclaimed, climbing back up onto the St. Bernard's nose. Suddenly, he had an idea, "Braveheart, lift me to that lock on the door. I'll try to unlock it and see what's inside that room."

Inch hopped off of Braveheart's head into the keyhole, and after a few seconds of fiddling with the inside, he unlocked the door and peeked in.

"Lori!" Inch exclaimed, seeing his niece sitting on the floor of small room, her knees drawn up to her chest and her head resting on her knees.

Lori lifted her head up, "Uncle Inch?"

"Lori, are you okay?"

"Uncle Inch!" Lori cried, jumping up and kneeling in front of the keyhole and holding out her hand, "Thank goodness you found me!"

Inch hopped onto her palm and asked her again, "Are you alright?"

Lori smiled, wiping away tears, "I am now, Uncle Inch."

Suddenly they heard several footsteps from outside the room and the sound of Braveheart barking. Lori lept out of the way as the St. Bernard burst into the room. They saw the two goons charging at them before being tackled and restrained by Gator and Mr. Finkerton.

"Gator," Inch scolded, forgetting that his boss was there, "I thought I told you to stay outside!"

Gator's face turned the color of a stoplight, "Well, uh, you see, Mr. Inch... um-"

"Never mind," Finkerton cut in, "the police are here to arrest these two now that the case has finally been solved."

"Which means you're not going to fire me?" Inch asked.

"Not this time, no."

Gator looked up at Lori, "Miss Lori, are you okay?"

Lori met his gaze and smiled, her face growing warm, "I'm okay now, thanks to all of you."

...

The ride back to Inch's apartment was silent. Everyone had thoughts rushing through their heads.

Braveheart was thinking about how good his bed was going to look after the long day and night they've had.

Inch was thinking about his conversation with his sister, Lori's mother, before she left on business.

_"She can stay with me, after all, we work together."_

_ "Okay, at least I don't have to worry about her being lonely. Just remember one thing."_

_ "What's that, sis?"_

_ "If you let anything, anything happen to her... I'll squash you like a BUG!"_

_ "Me? Your own brother? Your own little brother, your own flesh and blood?"_

_ "Don't. Let. Any. Thing. Happen. To her. Do I make myself clear?!"_

_ "Yes, dear sister, crystal clear."_

Of course, he knew his sister would never actually hurt him on purpose, but he did worry what she would do if something happened to Lori. So, he decided it was best not to mention tonight's events when they spoke.

Gator was relieved that Lori was safe with them again. He wanted to tell her something that had been on his mind for a while.

He didn't know it, but Lori was thinking the same thing.

...

"Say, Mr. Finkerton, could I have a word with you in your office?" Inch asked when they arrived at the building.

"Sure, sure." Finkerton replied, rolling his eyes.

"Miss Lori and I will head on up to the apartment if that's okay, Mr. Inch." Gator said.

"Alright, We'll meet you there."

...

"Gosh," said Lori, sitting down on the sofa, "it's been a long day."

"It sure has, Miss Lori." Gator replied, sitting next to her.

Lori smiled, blushing, "You know, you don't have to call me 'Miss' all the time. You can when we're on business, but when speaking informally, you can just call me 'Lori'. It is nice that you try to be respectful though."

Gator smiled, "Well, I really care about you and respect you Mi- I mean, Lori," he felt his cheeks burn, "and I... I really like you."

"I really care about you too, Gator." Lori replied, taking his hand, "maybe that's why we make such a good team."

"Yeah," their faces started moving closer together, "maybe it is."

Lori's heart started beating faster, her eyes closing as she felt the space between them close, their lips meeting.

This was a moment they both hoped for but never expected. It lasted for a while before their faces parted again. That was when they realized that Lori had pulled herself onto his lap, her arms around his shoulders, his arms around her waist.

Lori leaned into his chest and smiled, her face burning, "Gator, I love you."

Gator smiled and replied, "I love you too."

...

"Well, you can't blame a guy for trying, can you?" Inch sighed in defeat as he and Braveheart made their way to the apartment.

Braveheart shook his head. Inch hadn't recieved the raise he was hoping for, but at least Finkerton was "thinking about it" as he had put it.

Inch hopped on the doorknob and the door opened.

"Aww," said Inch, seeing Gator on the couch with Lori curled up in his lap, both of them asleep, "isn't that cute?"

Braveheart immediately grabbed a blanket and carefully covered the sleeping duo.

"Let's let them rest, Braveheart. After all, it's been a long day for them, and a tough case for Inch High, Private Eye."


End file.
